


Always Come Back to Each Other

by Cirque de la Lune (Saltimbanco)



Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: Post-Jurassic World
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-04-11 10:39:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4432286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saltimbanco/pseuds/Cirque%20de%20la%20Lune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was the only one who made him feel safe, who was able to calm him down from the nightmares, reassure him that the creaking within the old house was just creaking, and nothing more. It was because of Zach that Gray had been coping so well despite everything, and now it was as if someone had yanked a rug out from underneath the young boy and left him to drown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always Come Back to Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Weeks after Jurassic World, Gray is back to school. He’s doing well, with the help of his mother, Claire, Owen, his therapist, and more importantly, Zach’s help. So when he’s suddenly called to the principal’s office where Claire is waiting for him, he knows something bad must have happened. 
> 
> Partially based off something my friend and I have been discussing as well, where Zach runs away

It had started off as a normal enough day.

Gray had slept with a minimal amount of night terrors, but it did little to help with his already present exhaustion. If anything, it made him sleepier as his mother woke him up—hesitating before finally pulling himself out of bed and dragging himself downstairs to get ready for school. Owen slid another piece of sausage onto Claire’s plate, who already had her laptop open and was tapping away at the keys, no doubt responding to the concerns about Jurassic World. The two had been staying with the Mitchell family, as they had nowhere else to go. Claire was, of course, always welcome under her sister’s roof, and Owen’s presence helped put all of them at ease, including Karen. Zach was leaning against the counter top, looking at his phone. He glanced up for a moment as his brother entered the room, and Gray only responded with a sleepy blink. 

Gray slid into his normal seat, across from Claire, who spared a small smile at her younger nephew. Owen slid the kid a few pieces of sausage, which he wordlessly accepted and began to cut into.

The morning routine had been like this for a while, and Gray had become used to seeing the small gathering of people in the morning. It had become a comfort—everyone so at ease with each other, ready to start their respective day.

He had been about to ask Owen for seconds before Zach slid his phone in his pocket, glancing across the room at his younger brother. Gray knew what this meant before the words “Let’s go,” even left Zach’s lips, sliding out of his seat. Owen ruffled his hair as he passed, and Claire wished them both a good day. Their mother gave Zach a pat on the back, and kissed Gray’s forehead before they both headed out to Zach’s car.

The elder Mitchell had gotten his license a week after Jurassic World, an appointment which had been scheduled even before the trip. Karen had tried to convince him to wait—give himself a few more weeks to recover before taking the test, but Zach had insisted. Sure enough, he passed, and began driving his younger brother to school as soon as it started up once more.

He should have realized something was wrong during the car ride that morning. It was unusually quiet, with Zach not speaking a word and his music considerably low. Gray, of course, simply wrote this off as both of them being tired. Sleep hadn’t been an easy thing to come by, for either brother. Getting up earlier for school ever morning when neither fell asleep until the early hours of the morning didn’t help, but unfortunately the school didn’t allow extended absences on account of being nearly eaten by a dinosaur.

Zach dropped Gray off at his middle school, and both waved goodbye, wordlessly. Gray stood and watched until his brother pulled out of the parking lot and turned out of sight, presumably to go to his own school. With a small sigh and a shrug, he turned and went inside.

It wasn’t until midday that things fell apart.

School was fairly routine, and Gray found it difficult to pay attention to his teacher’s lectures, a combination of his lack of sleep and the fact that he already knew most of the information Ms. Hartley was relaying. It wasn’t until there was a soft knock at the door that he perked up, blinking several times as he turned his attention the school secretary stepping inside. The students exchanged some nervous glances, fidgeting in their chair as they tried to decide who she was here for. Mrs. Pierce was almost never good.

Ms. Hartley smiled, telling the students to continue the reading on their own for a moment, but no one did. The two women moved towards each other, muttering just low enough so that the students couldn’t hear. His teacher’s eyes flicked up for a moment, connecting with his own for just a moment before looking back at Mrs. Pierce once more and nodding. Gray could feel his heart start beating wildly as all the other students turned to look at him. What could they want? Were they concerned with how he was coping? He hadn’t acted out, or had any panic attacks in school—he was doing good! What did they _want_?

“Gray, honey? You need to go with Mrs. Pierce. There’s a family member here to see you.”

All eyes were on him as he wordlessly stood up, making his way to the door and shuffling out behind the secretary. She spared a small glance down and a smile at the young boy, before beginning the walk to the front office. Gray’s mind immediately began to panic, running through all possible scenarios.

It wasn’t until he saw Claire waiting for him beyond the glass doors that he knew something was _wrong_.

Her hands were on her hips, gaze focused on the ground while she chewed her lower lip. Claire was too proud to keep her gaze down—something Gray had learned she only did when things were out of her control. When things went bad.

Without a word, Gray pushed past Mrs. Pierce and into the front office, towards his aunt. Claire did her best to smile for the boy when he entered, dropping down to his level to give him a hug. He returned it briefly, before breaking the contact, brows furrowed as he looked at her. She was good at keeping a calm façade, but Gray knew better.

Claire cleared her throat, standing once more. “I’ve already signed you out, and your mother’s waiting at home. She would have come to get you herself, but she’s a little busy with—“

“What’s wrong?”

The question caught his aunt off guard, as she hesitated, blinking a few times before reaching down to grab his hand. “I’ll explain on the way home. It’s a bit complicated, but we thought it’d be best for you to come home for now—“

“Are we going to pick up Zach, too? Or is he already at home?”

Claire’s expression faltered, and Gray felt his blood run cold.

“What’s wrong with Zach….?”

The redhead sighed and shook her head, eyes closing for a moment as she thought through the best way to explain the situation to her younger nephew. Oh, why did _she_ have to be the one to come pick him up, to break the news?

“We—we’re not sure. Your mother got a call saying he hadn’t shown up for school, and when she tried to call him, he wouldn’t answer his phone. No texts, nothing. The same happened when Owen, your father, and I all tried to contact him. No one’s sure where he’s gone, if it’s something serious we should be worried about, or if he’s just ditching for the day. You were the last one to see him, Gray. Did you notice anything unusual?”

Tears were rolling down his cheeks as he feebly shook his head, moving a hand to quickly wipe some of them away.

“N-No, he didn’t—he didn’t say anything. He was fidgety, but he didn’t say _anything_ , and I just thought it was because he was tired, like me, I didn’t—I didn’t think anything was _wrong_ —“

He’s cut off with his own sobs, and Claire drops down to his level once more, pulling him into a tight hug. Gray doesn’t push her away this time, instead burying his head into her shoulder. Fingers begin to run through his hair, holding him close and not even bothered by the stain he was undoubtedly leaving on her work clothes. There were certain things more important than work, she had learned.  

“Hey, hey, it’s alright…. No one’s blaming you. It’s alright, sweetie. We’ll find him….. he’ll come home. I’m sure he will.... It’ll be alright, I’m sure…..”

Gray didn’t say anything—he didn’t think he _could_ , between sobs. Instead, he just let Claire hold him, focusing on her fingers in his hair and her soft words instead of the empty feeling Zach had left him with. Zach was his brother—his protector. He _needed_ him, even if they were off the island now. He was the only one who made him feel safe, who was able to calm him down from the nightmares, reassure him that the creaking within the old house was just _creaking_ , and nothing more. It was because of Zach that Gray had been coping so well despite everything, and now it was as if someone had yanked a rug out from underneath the young boy and left him to drown.

But they were brothers. And they’d always come back to one another.

 _Right_?


End file.
